BULLDOZERS will move in on more than 600 properties in Castlefields as part of a multi-million pound regeneration programme.

BULLDOZERS will move in on more than 600 properties in Castlefields as part of a multi-million pound regeneration programme.

Over the next five years #8m will be ploughed into the estate as part of a housing project agreed by housing associations LHT and CDS, Halton Borough Council and the Housing Corporation.

The ambitious plans include 300 new homes as well as the clearance of certain areas.

The first stage of the project will get underway later this month when properties in Ferryview Walk, Rolands Walk, Princes Close, Rothesay Close, Caernarvon Close and Nigel Walk are declared for demolition.

More homes in Fitzwilliam Walk and DeLacey Row will be declared for demolition at a later date.

Building work is scheduled to start later this year and LHT and CDS are currently looking for suitable sites in Castlefields to start new housing.

The decision to replace hundreds of homes came after months of consultations between landlords, council, Housing Corporation and residents.

'This is good news for Castlefields,' said Mary Achilles, chair of Castlefields Community Forum.

'We have been working with LHT and CDS over the past three years to develop a positive long-term vision for our estate and, because residents have been involved in the consultation process right from the start, the majority are 100% behind the project.'

The bulk of the funding has come from the Housing Corporation, a Government agency, but it is hoped the plan will attract further funding from other sources.

LHT and CDS have pledged to invest in Castlefields with a rolling programme of landscaping projects already underway.

A number of maintenance and environmental improvements are also in the pipeline.